The distribution of the family Nycteridae is mainly in arid regions of Africa, with several species also extending into tropical regions and Southeast Asia. These are bats with highly developed maneuverability, which allows them to forage from the ground. In English, Nycteridae are called Slit-faced Bats, a name describing the elongated slit that appears on the sides of the face, along the snout. Another feature that distinguishes the family is the structure of the tail membrane, which is split at its tip.

The greater slit-faced bat (Nycteris grandis), an African species that lives mainly in forests and is sometimes found in tree trunks, is the largest species in the family and has been observed hunting small vertebrates. The family Nycteridae includes only one genus and 15 species, found mainly in tropical Africa. In Israel there is one species: slit-faced bat (Egyptian slit-faced bat)